Dead blog, but my work website is up!

Okay so I know no one will probably look at this, but check out my work website at

http://www.southwestlitigation.com

or maybe this link will work.

Thanks

David

So I was looking at the Expert's picks for Week 11 and I was disappointed because no one picked Buffalo for an upset. I think this is a prime week for New England to lose!

Sure the Bills are ranked 26th against the pass, and 24th in points per game and New England is in the top 5 in almost every statistical category on both sides of the ball... but here are ten reasons of what I think the Bills have going for them.

1) On Any Given Sunday ANY team in the NFL can beat another team. The 2007 Patriots are not immune to this.
2) The pressure on the Patriots to have a perfect season is starting to rise.
3) No team has gone undefeated in over thirty years. Its not a matter of if the Patriots will lose, it is a matter of when the patriots will lose. There is no way they go undefeated with facing every team's best punch down the home stretch.
4) The Bills were a last minute 53 yard field goal from beating the Dallas Cowboys when no one thought they could.
5) They got hammered by New England 38-7 earlier this season and will want some revenge.
6) It's a Bills home game. The Bills like most teams play much better at home. They are 3-2 at home, but both losses were by 1 point! Also it is cold as fuck in Buffalo. Not that New England is not also use to playing in the cold, but 40 degree weather is not the best passing conditions.
7) The Bill's are underrated. They have won Four straight and Five out of their last six, with their only loss being that last second win by Dallas. The Bills other three losses are the Pats, Steelers, and Broncos. Three out of their four losses are to teams that are locks to make the playoffs.
8) The Patriots are coming off their huge win at Indy followed by their bye week. If there was a moment where their focus might wander slightly, it could be this week as they overlook an opponent they have already dominated this season.
9) Beating the Patriots would validate the Bills entire season. I think the Bills still have an outside shot at the playoffs, but this game would be their biggest win in over a decade. They would go down in history as the team that stopped the Patriots' perfect season. You know the Bills will lay everything out on the field, holding nothing back. Hopefully it is enough.
10) Karma. The Patriots have bad karma. It is bad karma to run up the score on other teams, leaving Brady in late in the fourth quarter, bringing Brady back in the game to pass for more touchdowns with 3 touchdown leads, going for it on 4th and 1 when you are winning handedly... this upsets the football gods and results in bad karma.


The only thing I do not like about the Bills this week is that their star player Marshawn Lynch will not play. Tough to pick a team against the Pats without their best player. Who knows though, maybe this will help the Bills. The Pats are even more likely to overlook them, and they know, absolutely NO ONE expects them to win.... except me of course!

You heard it here first!

So I just wanted to get in one of those "I told you so" moments.

On July 9, 2007, when the yankees were below .500, 8 1/2 games back from the wildcard, and every one had written them off, I CORRECTLY predicted the Yankees would make the playoffs. And that is exactly what they did last night. The Yankees have secured a playoff birth, and might actually still win their division for the 13th straight time. I told you, you can't have a $200 million dollar payroll and not make the playoffs. The deficit was too small to write them off with half a year remaining. I knew, and now you know, those predictions where they completely wrote off the Yankees were ridiculous. So "Ben" who called me an "idiot" what do you got to say now? Why don't you go back to sucking on the football field, or crashing your motorcycle again.

2007-08 NFL Season Predictions

Okay I know, I know… my blog sucks… I never write anything anymore… yada, yada, yada... Anyways, I wanted to get my season picks down in writing so I can prove to all of you my vastly superior knowledge of the NFL. Lol j/k. I went through and picked the division champs for every division, as well as predicting every team’s record and the order they will finish in their division. I finished with my Super Bowl pick as well as the typical season awards. I included lots of bold picks including which teams would drop out of the playoffs. I have Seattle going from Division Champs to the Division Cellar! Leave some comments including your own picks.

NFC North
Division Champs: Chicago Bears 11-5
Green Bay packers 8-8
Minnesota Vikings 7-9
Detroit Lions 4-12
NFC South
Division Champs: New Orleans Saints 10-6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10-6
Carolina Panthers 7-9
Atlanta Flacons 3-13
NFC West
Division Champs: St. Louis Rams 11-5
San Francisco 49ers 10-6
Arizona Cardinals 8-8
Seattle Seahawks 7-9
NFC East
Division Champs: Dallas Cowboys 12-4
Philadelphia Eagles 9-7
Washington Redskins 6-10
New York Giants 4-12

NFC Wildcard: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
NFC Wildcard: San Francisco 49ers
Last year in playoffs, this year out: Giants, Eagles, Seahawks.

AFC North
Division Champs: Baltimore Ravens 11-5
Cincinnati Bengals 10-6
Pittsburgh Steelers 9-7
Cleveland Browns 3-1
AFC South
Division Champs: Indianapolis Colts 12-4
Jacksonville Jaguars 9-7
Houston Texans 6-10
Tennessee Titans 6-10
AFC West
Division Champs: San Diego Chargers 13-3
Denver Broncos 10-6
Kansas City Chiefs 8-8
Oakland Raiders 7-9
AFC East
Division Champs: New England Patriots 11-5
Buffalo Bills 9-7
New York Jets 8-8
Miami Dolphins 6-10

AFC Wildcard: Denver Broncos
AFC Wildcard: Cincinnati Bengals
Last year in playoffs, this year out: Chiefs, Jets

NFC Champ: Dallas Cowboys
AFC Champ: San Diego Chargers
Superbowl Champ: San Diego Chargers

Offensive MVP: Ladainian Tomlinson
Defensive MVP: Shawn Merriman
(Yes I know they are from the same team. )
Offensive ROY: Marshawn Lynch
Defensive ROY: Gaines Adams
Comeback Player: Daunte Culpepper
Coaches to be fired mid-season: Tom Coughlin, Romeo Cremel
Team with the #1 2008 Draft Pick: Atlanta Falcons

Brad Golden and the Chicago Bears

Hey everyone, so yeah, I am still on vacation and haven't gotten around to writing anything, but Golden has volunteered his Superbowl prediction... be sure to leave comments! So here it is...

...Does anyone else feel that?... sniff… does anyone smell that? It’s coming. Even through 115° heat and an impending monsoon, I can taste the fringe of autumn... Delicious. My every sense is electrically intoxicated with the arrival of the year’s best season, and I have special reason to be extra excited this year. My favorite football team is going back to the Super Bowl. While Denny was wonderfully concise in his 10,000-word sheepish prediction of a mere AFC North Division title, I will be even more so in detailing the reasons why the Chicago Bears will be ten minutes from my house on February 3rd, playing in their second consecutive Super Bowl.

WHAT EVERYONE KNOWS:
They are in the NFC North Division.
If you’re going believe that your team is going to the Super Bowl, you have to believe that your team will be competitive in its own division. Unlike some Steelers fans, I needn’t write a tome on how this will happen. I need only to mention the opposing teams. Packers. Vikings. Lions. You can tell by the release of Ahman Green and the non-pursuit of Randy Moss that the Packers are a team that is not interested in competing right now. They are desperately attempting to rebuild. Now if the aging Desperado wearing #4 would just allow that to happen! The Vikings are a team that is very open about their rebuilding process. The fans know it, and no one is kidding themselves there. They are a team of the future, not the present. The Lions are finally making some moves to compete, but until I actually see them win some games, I will not feel threatened. I like Kitna’s spunk, though. I wish them a nice 2nd place finish in the division.

They have an excellent defense.
Everyone made a big deal about Lance Briggs’ holdout. Everyone made a big deal about Tank Johnson’s legal issues. Briggs signed a 1-year deal and is now performing for a big pay-day at the end of this season. Tank is history in Chicago and all the Bears did about that was bring in stud Darwin Walker and sign him to a big deal (a character guy, I might add), to wedge shoulder pads with a healthy Tommie Harris. On the ends are Ogunleye and Alex Brown with

12-sack rookie phenom Anderson rotating in. Archuleta is coming in to fill the void that will be left by Mike Brown after his obligatory season-ending injury. Oh yeah, and Urlacher is still a Bear. I see no reason to believe that this will not be an elite unit again this year.

Special teams makes a difference.
Not only were they Goulden in the FG department, the Bears also have an excellent coverage unit. In punting situations and kick-offs they did a good job of not putting their defense at a disadvantage. And when it comes to receiving kicks. . . well, they’re not too bad there either.

WHAT I KNOW THAT YOU MAY NOT:
Speaking of that Hester guy. . .
Teams are clearly going to game-plan for the Bears’ deadly return game, but don’t believe that they can neutralize the threat of Hester by kicking the ball away from him. After some cajoling by Lovie, Devin was persuaded to join the offensive unit. . and the rest is going to be history, folks. There was some concern as to how he might struggle with learning the offense, but any doubts have been dashed in camp. He has been a blur of brilliance.

They have weapons on offense.
Aside from the addition of Hester, there are other reasons to believe that the score-board operator will be busy this season. One of the most impressive players in camp has been Bernard Berrian. Aside from being one of the fastest players on the field, he has been out-jumping and out-muscling defenders for the ball. Expect an even bigger year from him. The early reviews are in for Greg Olsen, and they are good. Very good. The Bears, realizing they had no slouch at TE with Desmond Clark, have been running 2-TE sets in practice and the defense has had a hard time dealing with the duo. In fact, the offense has been outplaying the defense in almost every scrimmage so far. That’s telling when you consider that the defense usually has the upper hand this early in camp and that the defense is pretty damn good to begin with. The Bears veteran offensive line is rock-solid. There is a question as to whether Cedric Benson can take on the work load left by TJ’s departure, and it is a fair question. But he showed some definite flashes last year, and I will give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

You gotta love Lovie.
That calm demeanor. That smile. That goofy clap. It feels almost sacrilege to say that this antithesis of the stiff-necked, gum-chomping, clipboard-throwing, heart attack-having Mike Ditka has won the hearts of us Bears fans. But he has. Not for the caricature that I have presented, but for his great coaching. His in-game decisions are solid, and he is not afraid to use an occasional trick play. A far cry from Jauron’s wide-open, Anything Shane Mathews Can Find Within 5-yards of the Line of Scrimmage offense. Lovie is great with his players. They love to play for him. But Coach Smith is no push-over. Tank was given appropriate support following his off-the-field issues, and was given a chance to redeem himself. Tank failed, and was swiftly let go. This is a far cry from Wanstedt’s overly loyal buddy-pal support of a team of no-talents. Lovie just makes good decisions while maintaining normal blood pressure. And he will make them all the way to this year’s Super Bowl.

No, I’m not avoiding the “Rex” question. Ok. So maybe there’s a small question at quarterback. I know that his 23-TD/20-INT stat line does not tell the crazy story of a roller coaster season for #8. To me, it’s real simple with Rex. There’s no telling how he is going to perform, so it all comes down to what you believe as a fan. You may believe one of three things: 1) He will cease his inconsistencies, revealing himself as great QB and have a stellar season. 2) He will cease his inconsistencies, revealing himself as a crummy QB and have a terrible season. 3) He will remain maddeningly inconsistent and I will be found naked in my closet, neck-dangling from a noose. There is also the rare 4th fan who believes that some weird Super Bowl curse will befall Rex and he will go Evil-Knieveling into traffic and inflaming his vestigial digestive organs, thus providing a year-long excuse for his shitty performances. Of course, that would never happen, right? Too crazy. Anyway, I happen to fall into the first camp. You may not. But you critics are correct in ridiculing me for pinning my hopes on superficial mechanical improvements. Until Rex proves that he can throw a pick and not fall to pieces over it, there is no reason for optimism. It is my hope that his newly-trained muscle memory will exceed his interception memory.

There you have it folks. Count the Bears in. And as I wrote this, I witnessed a pretty good-looking Steeler team tear up the Saints in the HOF Game. The only thing that would be sweeter than the Bears fulfilling my prediction of repeating to the Super Bowl, would be for their opponent to be Bradley Denny’s Steelers. Oooh man. Then you would see a Battle of the Brads. Let it be so.

I'm baaaaaaack!

I know you have all waited patiently (or at least most of you) as I studied for the California Bar exam. Thank God that hell is over. So anyways, I have a crazy month of vacations planned, so my postings will be sporadic. Don't worry, I'll get into a routine before the season starts. So here is my first post-bar posting! Leave comments!

1. I know I’m about to have the best month ever! Not only is the bar over with, and my twelve freaking hour days in the library, but I was able to get a whole month off from work. I’ll be hanging out in San Diego, enjoying boredom; then Ill be heading to Laughlin to gamble away all the money I don’t have, then going on a cruise, followed by a two-week stint in good ol’ Arizona to visit friends, family, and to conduct TWO fantasy football drafts.

2. I know the Atlanta Falcons will be the worst team in football. Face it, its not like they were good last year. They went 7-9 after starting 3-1 in a season where Michael Vick rushed for over 1000 yards. Moreover, the circumstances of Vick’s departure will plague the Falcons all year long. Now they are forced to start Joey Harrington with a 23-43 win-loss record and a career passer rating below 70. Finally to top it all off Warrick Dunn their leading rusher is out. I expect their inexperienced coach to lead them to a 3-13 record.

3. I know Daunte Culpepper will unfortunately be a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. I HATE this! I can’t believe Golden was right. It is really unbelievable! However, Chris Simms still hasn’t recovered from his spleen removal. It seems he is subconsciously protecting his torso while playing, and it has screwed up his mechanics. The Bucs need to upgrade their back-up QB situation. If the Bucs sign Daunte, then I think they will likely drop Simms. Gradkowski is not ready to be a back-up yet, but his potential should keep him as the team’s third string QB. (Little known fact about Gradkowski is that in high school he played in the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League in Pennsylvania topping records set by Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, and Johnny Unitas… maybe you heard of them.) The Bucs season (and Gruden’s career) will live or die with Garcia’s play. I wish my boy Plummer would save the day and report to camp!

4. I know that Simeon Rice will be a Detroit Lion. Rice has a great relationship with Detroit head coach Rod Marinelli who was formerly the Bucs defensive line coach. If Matt Millen does something smart and ponies up the dough, the Lions could add a defensive play-maker improving their 28^th ranked Defense last year that gave up over 345 yards per game.

5. I know that if I catch Bonds’ record breaking homerun ball, I’m selling it. For those I didn't text, the Giants are playing the Padres this Friday and I got fourth row seats in the section that sticks out of the right-field corner. So hopefully Bonds doesn't break the record during his three L.A. games this week, and the Giants don't end up resting him on Friday. So if I catch that ball there’s no giving it back, and getting an autograph in return. An auction house has already made a MILLION dollar offer for the ball that they were forced to retract for safety precautions. So like my boy Asante Samuels says I’ll need to “Get Paid!” I got bills! So show me the money!

My previous thoughts on Michael Vick

With the Bar exam less than a week away, I do not have the time to say all that I want to on this matter. So I am going to cheat and remind you all of my statements back on June 6th. This will also provide a new thread so we can debate the implications of this recent indictment.

On June 6, 2007, I said....
I know this dog-fighting issue will plague Vick all season. Most recent reports indicate that there is sufficient evidence to indict Vick on his illegal dog-fighting ring. I believe that even if found guilty he would not receive jail time, and any jail time he did receive would not be a substantial amount. Best case scenario for Vick is that the Virginia DA would hurry up and decide if he is going to press charges, and if so, sooner is better than later. The sooner they press charges, the sooner Vick can plead out, accept probation, and move on with his life. The longer they drag this out, the greater the chance it will carry into the NFL season. Then Vick will be forced to defend the case while trying to keep his job as the starting QB of the Falcons. Once charges are filed, Vick is entitled to a speedy trial. Not a right he will welcome if charges are filed in August. So Vick could spend the beginning of the 2007-08 season dealing with his legal troubles. Moreover, unlike with Pacman, Goodell will come out and say he will wait for the legal system to run its course, before he makes a decision on Vick (no rationale to explain the hypocrisy in that decision... but watch, it WILL happen). So in November, when Vick finally wraps up his case, Goodell will suspend him for two games. By that time, it will probably be irrelevant, because with the distraction all season long, and the competitive NFC south, the Falcons will probably be out of playoff contention anyways.